Heart of Ice
by JME2
Summary: One shot; O’Neil reflects on the events of “Full Alert” and what it bodes for both the SGC and himself.


Disclaimer: _Stargate _created by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. _Stargate: SG-1 _developed for television by Brad Wright Jonathan Glassner. _Stargate: Atlantis _created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. All three properties are owned by MGM and The Sci-Fi Channel. I own the story and any original characters/species. No copyright infringement is intended.

Stargate: SG-1 - Heart of Ice

Synopsis: One shot; O'Neil reflects on the events of "Full Alert" and what it bodes for both the SGC and himself.

Author's Notes

This story contains spoilers for "Full Alert". Read at your own discretion.

This is my first entry into the world of _Stargate _fan fiction. If any facts/characterizations are wrong, I apologize in advance. As always, enjoy

VVV

Despite his role as commander of the SGC and his time with program, Brigadier General Jack O'Neil would never fully get used to the view from behind the desk that had formerly belonged to General George Hammond less than a year earlier. He was by nature a man of action, whether it be leading missions through the Gate or trying to reel in the big one at his favorite pond and sitting behind a desk had been at times infuriating for him in the months since the destruction of Anubis' invasion fleet.

The Brigadier General was leaning back in the chair Hammond had loved - and which he might end up sending to the General if he felt like it - his attention focused on the glass, on the amber colored liquid swirling within. It was just him and scotch; the blinds had been lowered over the view of the Stargate and he had given orders not to be disturbed for the time being. The alcohol acted as a soothing balm for his frayed nerves and allowing him to try to piece together the events of not just the last few days, but also from months and years past.

As they had so many times in the nine years since he had traveled to the world of Abydos and back, they had won. Thanks to both his and Colonel Chekov's efforts, President Mikhailov had backed down and the threat of a nuclear war between Russia, China, and the United States had been averted at the last possible second. Thanks to them, the human race would live to see another sunrise and the Gou'ald would not reap the prizes of an annihilated Earth and the Ancient Weapon in the Antarctic.

But it had its dark, uncertain side too. The _Prometheus_, still not fully repaired from their failed attempt to reach the Pegasus Galaxy a month earlier, had suffered serious damage in its battle with the _Al'kesh _and was back in drydock. Their attempts to reach Elizabeth Weir and the Atlantis team would again have to wait for another day.

In addition, there was the matter of the Trust. O'Neil had no doubt that Carter had been correct in the likelihood that the entire organization had been possessed by the 'Snake Heads' as he had so affectionately called them since the Stargate had been reopened almost a decade before. Despite their knack for arrogance, the General had serious doubts that the Gou'ald would have put all of their eggs, so to speak, on the _Al'kesh_. While it was tempting to write off the former NID agents once and for all, he couldn't do it.

That in turn brought up the Gou'ald themselves. O'Neil agreed with Daniel that the chances that the agents were loyal to Baal were not likely; he was too busy conquering the other System Lords to both with Earth. So that begged the question of who these Gou'ald were working for. The captured General Kiselev had not been forthcoming with details and if his masters were still on Earth, then they hadn't heard the last from them.

_Great. Just another entry on the list of all our problems and concerns: Rogue Gou'ald, the missing Atlantis Expedition, the Replicator threat, continued Russian displeasure with the loan of their Gate - the list went on and on and on. Yet, because of the last few days, one of these problems had apparently ceased to be._

Robert Kinsey.

O'Neil sighed, his gaze wandering once again to the scotch in his hands. It should have been a reason for celebration among not just himself, Teal'c, Daniel, and Carter, but hell all of the SGC. Kinsey had always been a unique threat to the Stargate Program and very much like the Replicators in that conventional weaponry - in O'Neil's case, a P90 pistol and/or confiscated 'Zat gun' - didn't work on him. They couldn't blast him away as they had Ra, Apophis, Marduk, and the other enemies that SG-1 had dealt with over the years.

But did Kinsey deserve what the Trust had forced upon him, to be joined with that which the General had fought over the last decade? In a heartbeat and under normal conditions, O'Neil could and would say yes, after all he had done. The persistent bastard has used his political clout and shadowy connections with the N.I.D. and the Trust for his own ends over the last seven years to try to shut down the Program time and again.

He had failed to see that the benefits of the operation of the Stargate far outweighed the negatives. Yes, Earth had become embroiled in a variety of interstellar conflicts, yes, good men and women had sacrificed their lives in the name of defending Earth, and yes, his hard-earned tax dollars went to funding the required seven billion dollars needed for the Stargate Program.

But look at all they had accomplished since Daniel had deciphered the inscriptions on the cartouche a decade past. They had made genuine allies in a cosmos that had seemed nothing but hostile, from Teal'c and Thor - though there still times when he couldn't help but wonder if he could have the Asgard commander as a drinking buddy for at least one night - to Bra'tac and the late Narim. With the science and discoveries made possible by the Stargate, they had expanded their understanding of not just the universe, but also of themselves. Despite the triumphs and defeats he had personally suffered, Jack O'Neil wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, except for the alien invasions, Baal killing him and then restoring him to life over and over, Loki's cloning experiment, and yes, Kinsey's relationship with the SGC.

But even so, his thoughts turned once again to the fact that one of the main bastards in his life was a Gou'ald. When he had seen the Russian footage of the possessed Kinsey, he had felt less shock and more indifference and a sense of irony, that Kinsey had become both the proverbial and literal snake. And yet, inexplicably, he had felt something else, something that he wanted to deny he had felt, but yet, could not: A twang, a _very _brief twang of pity for SGC's oldest political foe.

If the and SG-1 hadn't experienced what they had since both fateful trips to Abydos, then he supposed that seemingly alien emotion would never have come to be. Each of them had experienced Gou'ald possession in their own ways: Daniel's wife had been taken over Amonet, Teal'c had acted as an incubator for two symbiots, Carter had bonded with the Tok'ra Jolinar - hell even he had learned the 'pleasures' of joining thanks to that crazy bitch Hathor and then two years earlier with Kanan.

Suffice it to say, being joined with a Gou'ald was _not _a fun way to spend the day when all was said and done. He supposed that Kinsey's death had been the best thing that could be done for the bastard - especially considering that with the disintegration of the Earth-Tok'ra-Rebel Jaffa coalition, the chances of getting the Tok'ra to remove the Gou'ald Symbiot would not have been high. And even if they could, O'Neil honestly didn't know if he would have allowed it.

But it didn't matter anymore. Kinsey was as dead as a doornail and was no longer their problem. All he had left to do involving Kinsey was the submissions of his report on the entire incident to President Hayes. What he didn't know was who was going to break the news to Kinsey's family - O'Neil was still surprised that a rat like Kinsey could actually have one - as well as his dog Oscar - who in O'Neil's book was proof enough that contrary to popular belief, dogs could _not _sense evil. The Brigadier General was confident that Homeworld Security would handle the matter and concoct an elaborate demise that would publicly fit the image of patriot that Kinsey had presented himself as to the public.

In the meantime, he had allowed himself more than enough time for R and R. There were things to be done, fears to allay, and a Stargate Command that needed to be run. But as he set the glass of scotch down, his mind wouldn't focus on the task at hand, the gray matter - Carter and Daniel had often expressed their surprise that the General had any - turning back once more to Kinsey and a lingering thought.

Was Robert Kinsey truly gone, never to plague O'Neil or Stargate Command again? Had the possessed-Kinsey truly met a fiery end when the _Al'Kesh _had been destroyed by the _Prometheus_? Or had he somehow managed to get off of what had once been Osiris' vessel, lying in wait for another chance to strike at Earth and the SGC? Honestly, O'Neil didn't know. And as much as he hated to quote the cliché, he felt that he had to.

Only time would tell.


End file.
